Choose Compassion: Pigs Are People Too

Meet Chris P. Bacon. Chris is a 6-month-old potbellied pig. His favorite foods are Cheerios and sliced green grapes; his least favorite are carrots and celery. He loves air conditioning, rubbing his belly in the grass, and watching TV with his adoptive older brother. His best friends are a stuffed duck named Doinks and a dog named Aspen. He's stubborn, affectionate, curious, and vocal. And he loves to give wet piggie kisses.

Meet Chris face to snout, and it's clear he's a distinct individual. He thinks and feels and has preferences and personality quirks like any dog, cat, or human being. But Chris is a pig, and in our world, that means he and others like him are primarily for eating.

For most Americans, the meat we consume comes packaged from a grocery store or precooked on a plate. It bears no resemblance to an adorable pink pig in a wheelchair. But the truth is, they're one and the same. Though Chris' tongue-in-cheek name elicits an obvious connection, most people don't equate bacon with a cute snout and curly tail.

Part of this failure to connect the product to its source stems from the fact that most of our food comes from corporate farming, so unlike our ancestors, we're completely removed from the origin of what we eat.

The other factor, I fear, is that people would rather not acknowledge what they're eating. For most, it's unpleasant to admit that a tender filet was once attached to a grass-eating, doe-eyed heifer. Bacon was once a pig. A burger was once a cow. Nuggets were once a chicken. This is the reality that many would rather avoid.

The same day I met Chris, I visited Universal Studios. There, I watched an animal show that featured trained dogs, cats, birds and pigs. Everyone let out a collective awwwww when the pigs trotted across the stage. And yet, right outside the arena, hot dogs and ham sandwiches sat for sale.

What's wrong with this picture? For how long can we ignore the suffering of other sentient beings just so we can have cheap bacon for breakfast? Are we really ok with that kind of systematic hypocrisy?

I'm not arguing that the entire world convert to vegetarianism or veganism. We're not there yet. It is feasible, however, that we stop to think about where our food comes from. Particularly in America, where most of us are privileged enough to make a deliberate choice.

If you agree, please do something about it. Become a conscious consumer. At the very least, start buying meat from humane, sustainable sources, and avoid the cheap, mass-produced, hormone-pumped crap. Your body and the environment will thank you. So will the animals.

And if you're an animal lover -- a fan of all creatures great and small -- do a little more. Go meatless on Mondays, or altogether. Experiment with vegan recipes. Take one small step at a time towards a cruelty-free lifestyle. It's the little things.

As human beings in a first world country, we have the opportunity to choose compassion. Len Lucero chose compassion. Not with any particular agenda in mind, not with thoughts of glory or fame, not with any ulterior motive -- but because he was a good man faced with a living, breathing, feeling being he knew he could save.

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